Submitted by Angie Kovacs, adviser and instructor for Business Professionals of America at Batavia High School.
On May 20th, Business Professionals of America announced their National Secondary Student of the Year. The honor went to Batavia High School senior Bryan J. Sauter.
In a typical year, Bryan would receive the honor on stage at the National Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.
The week after, he would walk with his classmates during graduation in NKU’s BB&T Arena. But it’s not a typical year. Instead, on May 20th Bryan walked into the gym alone to receive his honors diploma with ten family members watching.
A few hours later, he found out he was selected as Student of the Year via YouTube during BPA’s National Leadership Celebration.
Instead of focusing on the things he missed out on, Bryan focused on what he gained. His teacher and BPA chapter advisor Angie Kovacs said this is typical of Bryan and that he has set the bar for future students in terms of leadership and character. According to Kovacs, “The words that come to mind when describing Bryan are honorable, respectful, humble, funny, trustworthy, dedicated – the list can go on and on. He is an exceptional young man.”
“Bryan has demonstrated that he leads by example, accepting responsibilities as a representative of his school and his chapter with maturity,” National BPA Executive Director Dr. LouAnn Ross said. “He epitomizes what it means to be an advocate for Business Professionals of America and student advancement as he not only took part in the goals and activities of BPA, but met a stringent number of requirements supporting his eligibility and took his leadership development to new heights. We are thrilled to be able to recognize Bryan with the 2020 Student of the Year Award from Business Professionals of America.”
Batavia Local Schools Board of Education president Michael Enriquez said that the district is extremely proud of Bryan, “He is one of those students that took advantage of all that BPA offers through his participation in activities of the Batavia Chapter. He exemplifies the BPA mission and vision of developing and empowering student leaders to seek their passion and change the world through opportunities in learning, competition, community service, professional development, and personal growth.”
BPA is a co-curricular career-tech student organization that helps students develop leadership, academic, and technological skills to become leaders within their workplace and community. Through the Workplace Skills Assessment Program, Sauter qualified for state competition in the banking and finance category. He competed nationally in Anaheim, CA, in 2019 and would have competed nationally again this year as the state champion in his event.
Bryan has an impressive resume. He held several leadership roles during his high school career, including treasurer of his BPA chapter, president of the National Technical Honor Society and the National Honor Society, and captain of both the wrestling and soccer teams. He was a member of the inaugural Batavia Chick-fil-A Leader Academy and a Batavia Rotary Club Student of the Month.
His commitment to community service is equally impressive. Sauter recently earned both the U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Medal and Ambassador Torch Award for his dedication to school and community service.
Sauter has been in the business management program for the past three years at Batavia as a satellite program through Great Oaks Career Campuses. “I am so excited for Bryan! Bryan is quickly becoming known—in his school, in the community, and now on the national stage. I’m pleased that our paths crossed, and look forward to seeing his future success,” Great Oaks President and CEO Harry Snyder said.
Sauter will attend Indiana University in the fall, majoring in computer information systems.